Region and the nation

The 1980s saw rising regional demands: for autonomy, for separate states, sometimes even for separation from India. Several turned into armed struggles. Most ended in accords, negotiated agreements between the government and the movement.

India's approach to diversity is different from that of many European countries, which tried to build nations around one language and one culture. India does not deny its regions their own language and culture. In a democracy, regional aspirations can be expressed openly and are not automatically branded anti-national. Unity and diversity are seen as compatible.

Areas of tension from the early years:

• Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland and Mizoram, where some groups wanted to separate;
• the Dravidian movement in the south, which at first spoke of a separate Dravida nation;
• movements for linguistic states, and the anti-Hindi agitations in Tamil Nadu.

The Dravidian movement: it began with the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK), led by E.V. Ramasami 'Periyar', which fought against Brahmin domination and asserted Tamil identity. A split produced the DMK. The movement used only democratic means: protests, elections and public campaigns, never arms. The DMK won power in Tamil Nadu in 1967, and Dravidian parties have ruled the state ever since.

New states met many demands peacefully: Punjab and Haryana were created in 1966; much later, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand (2000) and Telangana (2014).

The lesson: in India, regionalism has usually worked within democracy, not against it.